Sectional golf bag

ABSTRACT

In a sectional golf bag which can be manually assembled without sewing machines, a top collar unit and a bottom unit with a respective tri-angular grooved cavity communicating integrally with a respective annular groove formed in and along each of the opposed peripheral walls of both units, and a body unit with an upper and lower flange means having a configuration corresponding to each of the triangular grooved cavities, respectively, such that they can be received forcibly into and engaged with each of the triangular grooved cavities for coupling the top collar unit, the bottom unit and the body unit together. The body unit can be held cylindrical by means of a pair of fastener elements along the vertical edges.

United StatesPatent Shuto [451 Julyv4, 1972 [54] SECTIONAL GOLF BAG [22]Filed: June 2,1970

[2l] AppLNo.: 42,817

[52] U.S. CI. ..l50/l.5 R

[5l] lnt. Cl. A63b 55/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..l50/l.5 R, 1.5 B, 1.5 C;220/67, 73

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,269 2/1928 Hotze..l50/l.5 R 2,094,186 9/1937 Patrick ISO/1.5 R

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Assistant Examiner-Stephen P. GarbeAttorney-Emest G. Montague [57] ABSTRACT In a sectional golf bag whichcan be manually assembled without sewing machines, a top collar unit anda bottom unit y with a respective tri-angular grooved cavitycommunicating integrally with a respective annular groove formed in andalong each of the opposed peripheral lwalls of both units, and a bodyunit with an upper and lower flange means having a configurationcorresponding to each of the triangular grooved cavities, respectively,such that they can be received forcibly into and engaged with each ofthe triangular grooved cavities for coupling the top collar unit, thebottom unit and the body unit together. The body unit can be heldcylindrical by means of a pair of fastener elements along the verticaledges.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PTNTEDJUL 'A 4 |972 SHEET 2 [1F 2 INVENTORATTORNEY This invention relates to a sectional golfbag characterized inthat a top collar unit, a body unit and a bottom unit that are madeseparately in different processes simultaneously, wherein the top collarunit and the bottom unit are fonned of a suitable elastic material,preferably of a syntheticr rubber material, and the body unit is made ofsuitable sheet material such as textile fabrics, synthetic resins and/orleathers; adjacent the upper edge as well as the lower edge of the bodyunit are disposed an upper marginal mumber and a lower marginal member,respectively, both of which marginal members are formed of a suitableelastic material, preferably of synthetic rubber material, so as to beforced snappingly into the grooves provided within the top collar unitand the bottom unit, respectively, after the body unit having beencylindrically formed by way of not sewing together but using fastenerelements arranged along each of the opposite longitudinal side edges ofthe body unit.

Most of conventional golf bags have been generally completed by way ofsewing a top collar portion and a bottom portion onto a body portion byuse of plurality of different types special sewing machines which arevery expensive or by way of manual stitching works by those skilled inthe work, which has caused inevitable increases in manufacturing costsand inefficiency in manufacturing. Furthermore, in transportation offinished golf bags, resulting from well-known cylindrical shape thereofincapable of folding flat, space utility efficiency in transportationmeans has been extremely low, causing increase in transportation cost.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel sectionaltype golf bag which can be very easily assembled even by unskilledpersons or amateur part-timers without using sewing machines.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel golf bag whichwill permit manufacture at a very low cost.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel golf bagwhich will enable easy assembly at any place merely with conventionalsimple and small hand-operated tools such as Screwdrivers.

It is the still further object of this invention to reduce atransportation cost of golf bags considerably.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following description made .with reference to apreferred embodiment of the invention shown by way of example in theaccompanying drawings and from the appended claims.

ln the drawings: v

FIG. l is a perspective view showing one preferred embodiment of thegolf bag according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the golf bag shown in FIG. 1,with parts enlarged for better disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a top collar unit of the golf bagillustrated in FIG. l and 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line lV-IV of FIG. 3 andlooking in the direction indicated, showing an annular groove providedwithin the top collar unit in detail.

FIG. 5 is an expanded front elevation illustrating the body unit to becylindrically formed, with parts broken away for better disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the body unit shown in FIG 5.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the bottom unit shown in FIG. 1 and 2.

FIG. 8 is a vertical section as indicated by the arrows VIII- VIII ofFIG. 7, showing an annular groove provided within the bottom unit indetail.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view showing the uppermarginal member of the body unit engaged with the groove of the topcollar unit, with golf club separating means inserted therethrough.

FIG. l is a sectional view similar to FIG. 8, showing the lower marginalmember of the body unit partly engaged with the groove of the bottomunit, with a fixing screw inserted therethrough.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a sectional golf bag inaccordance with this invention comprises three units; a top collar unit,a body unit, and a bottom unit, generally designated by referencenumerals 10, 20, and 50, respectively. These three units may be made indifferent processes simultaneously. y

As is illustrated in FIG. 3, an annular ring shaped or oval ring shapedtop collar unit, 10 which is formed of a suitable elasticmateriaLpreferably of synthetic rubber, can be made l in conventionalforming process, so that it is provided with an annular groove l1 alongthe underside peripheral wall of the top collar unit. Adjacent the innerdepth of the groove 11, there is provided a triangularly grooved cavityl2 which is communicated with the groove 11 and receives a flangeportion 3l of which description will be given hereinafter. Preferably,in formingthe top collar unit 10, a reinforcing steel ring material 13shown in section in FIG. 4 and 9 maybe filled in.

As shown particularly inFIG. 5 and 6, the body unit 20 is made of asuitable sheet material such as textile fabrics, synthetic resins,leathers and/or the like. Adjacent the upper edge as well as the loweredge of the body unit 20, there are disposed an upper marginal memberand a lower marginal member generally designated by reference numerals30 and 40 respectively, and along the opposite longitudinal edges ofsame there are arranged a pair of fastener elements 21a and 2lbrespectively. It will be easily understood that other attachmerits, thatis, for instance, a clothing pocket 22, utility pocket 23, a ball pocket24, an umbrella sheath (not shown in the drawings), a carrying handle25, a shoulder strap (not shown in the drawings), and reinforcingmembers 26, 27a, 27b, 28a, 28b, 29a, and 29b may be provided. In makingthe body' unit 20, upper marginal member 30, lower marginal member 40,and a pair of fastener elements 21a, 2lb, as well as other attachmentsas described above, must be arranged on the body unit 20 by sewing on orin the suitable conventional manner prior to the stage of fonningbodythe unit cylindrically.

The upper marginal member 30 and lower marginal member 40 have a flangeportion 31 or 4l, respectively. The marginal member 30 is formed so thatit can be partly received in the annular groove l1 of top collar unit l0vand have its flange portion 31 engaged within the triangularly groovedcavity 12 of same as particularly shown in FIG. 9, whereby the topcollar unit 10 and the body unit 20 can be kept coupled together witheach other. More preferably, the top collar unit l0 and the body unit 20may be engaged with each other more fixedly in the manner shown in FIG.2 and 9 by use of golf club separating means consisting of threadedplugs 14, socket tubes 15a, 15b, hollow tubes 16a, l6b and washers 17.The socket tubes 15a and 15b may be served as fixing members as well asaxle members about which the hollow tubes 16a and 16h are allowed torotate freely and will thereby facilitate inserting and removing golfclubs more smoothly.

The lower marginal member 40, which is formed in similar manner to thatof fomng the above described upper marginal member 30, is provided withsimilar flange portion 41 which can be received into the annular groove5l of the bottom unit 50 and forced snappingly into the similartriangularly groovy cavity 52 of same asis particularly shown in FIG.l0, whereby the body unit 20 and the bottom unit S0 can be kept coupledwith each other.

In the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of screw bolts 53 andstationary nuts 54 are provided for the purpose of keeping the couplingposition of the body unit 20 and the bottom unit 50 more fixedly.

In this connection, it should be desirable that the screw nuts 54 arearranged in or embedded in the inner peripheral wall of the bottom unitin the manner as shown in FIG. 10 in the forming process of the latterso that the screwing work can be accomplished easily and accessivelyfrom outside merely by use of a screwdriver.

However, it has been proved by experience that provision of screws 53and nuts 54 as fixing members are not always required, because the bodyunit 20 and the bottom unit 50 can be kept coupled with each other tothe sufficient extent without the fixingl members 53 and 54.

The bottom unit 50 may be formed of the same material as the top collarunit 10, as well as the marginal members 30 and 40, and is provided withthe annular groove 5l and the triangular grooved cavity 52 which areformed similar to those of the top collar unit 10. lt may of course beprovided with integral stud members 56 and suitably shaped partitionwalls 55, for instance cross-shaped ones as shown in FIG. 7, as well asdrain holes 57 as shown in FIG. 8.

lt will be easily understood that the top collar unit and the bottomunit may be provided with flange portions, respectively, in place ofeach annular groove and triangular grooved cavity and that the bodyunit, with grooves and triangularly grooved cavities for receiving theflange portions, at the upper edge as well as at the lower one.

Furthermore, the flange portion as well` as the triangularly groovedcavity for receiving same may be formed so as to face inwardly, thoughfacing outwardly in the illustrated embodiment.

As apparent from the aforementioned description, sewing work forproviding the body unit with desired attachments such as 25, 26, 27a,27b, 28a and 28b can be done by means of only one kind of sewingmachine, since all the sewing work are e'ected on flat sheet material.lt is of course that cauling works can be effected easily andefficiently for the same reason.

In the operation of assembling the three units l0, 20 and 50 into afinished golf bag, as a first step, a golf bag carrying han dle 25 isscrewed onto the body unit 20 and then the latter is formedcylindrically by means of a pair of fastener elements 21a, 2lb which aredisposed along the opposite longitudinal edges thereof. As a secondstep, the top collar unit and bottom unit 50 are coupled with the bodyunit 20 by forcing the flange portions 31 and 4l of the body unitsnappingly into the triangularly grooved cavities l2 and 52respectively. As a third step, golf club separating means 14, a, 15b,16a, 16b and 17 may be mounted, and if desired, fixing members 53 and 54may be employed.

The sectional golf bag in accordance with this invention, thus, can beassembled without any sewing machine at all but with at most two kindsof Screwdrivers only. Consequently, efficiency in assembling golf bagscan be extremely promoted by almost 400 percent increase even by thoseunskilled in the art with lessequipped facilities, eliminating thebottle neck of producing golf bags with high eiciency at a very lowcost.

lf desired, said golfclub separating means may be integrally built-in atthe stage of forming the top collar unit, for the purpose of simplifyingthe assembling operation. However, in this case, the fixing function ofthe golf club separating means cannot, of course, be attended.

ln transportation, as being capable of easy assembly, the golf bag inaccordance with this invention may be transported or exported in partsand be assembled at the destination by local part-timers, permittingso-called knock-down system in other phrases, whereby labor cost as wellas transportation cost can be reduced remarkably.

lt will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to theexact construction and manners shown and described, but that variouschanges and modifications may be made as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A sectional golf bag, comprising a top collar unit having an annulargrooved means formed along the underside peripheral wall thereof,

a rst triangular grooved cavity means integrally communicating with saidannular grooved means,

a bottom unit having an annular grooved means formed along the uppersideperipheral wall thereof,

a second triangular grooved cavity means integrally cornmunicating withsaid annular groove means of said bottom unit,

' a body unit having an upper marginal portion and a lower marginalportion at opposite horizontal edges thereof, respectively,

an upper flange means integrally formed with said upper marginal portionfor being received forcibly into and envgaged with said lst triangulargrooved cavity means of said top collar unit for coupling saidtop collarunit and said body unit together,

a lower flange means integrally formed with said lower marginal portionfor being received forcibly into and engaged with said second triangulargrooved cavity means for coupling said bottom unit and said body unittogether, and

a pair of fastener element means provided along opposite vertical edgesof said body unit, respectively, for joining both of said vertical edgestogether and holding said body unit means in substantially cylindricalform.

2. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said firsttriangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantiallyright-angled triangle,

said upper flange means has a configuration complementary to said firsttriangular grooved cavity means,

said second triangular grooved cavity means is formed as a substantiallyright-angled triangle, and

said lower flange means has a configuration complementary to said secondtri-angular grooved cavity means.

3. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said topcollar unit is provided with at least one golf club separating meansincluding a pair of threaded plug means, a hollow tube means, and asocket tube means inserted in said hollow tube means and serving as anaxle means for rotatably supporting said hollow tube means, and

said socket tube means has two inner threaded portions at its both endsfor receiving said pair of threaded plug means, respectively.

4. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said topcollar unit and said bottom unit are formed of synthetic rubbermaterial, and

said upper and lower marginal portions are formed of synthetic rubbermaterial.

5. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim l, wherein said topcollar unit has a reinforcing steel ring means disposed therein.

6. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bottomunit has at least a pair of reinforcing fixing means including a screwbolt, and a stationary nut thereon embedded in the innerwall of saidbottom unit.

1. A sectional golf bag, comprising a top collar unit having an annulargrooved means formed along the underside peripheral wall thereof, afirst triangular grooved cavity means integrally communicating with saidannular grooved means, a bottom unit having an annular grooved meansformed along the upperside peripheral wall thereof, a second triangulargrooved cavity means integrally communicating with said annular groovemeans of said bottom unit, a body unit having an upper marginal portionand a lower marginal portion at opposite horizontal edges thereof,respectively, an upper flange means integrally formed with said uppermarginal portion for being received forcibly into and engaged with saidfirst triangular grooved cavity means of said top collar unit forcoupling said top collar unit and said body unit together, a lowerflange means integrally formed with said lower marginal portion forbeing received forcibly into and engaged with said second triangulargrooved cavity means for coupling said bottom unit and said body unittogether, and a pair of fastener element means provided along oppositevertical edges of said body unit, respectively, for joining both of saidvertical edges together and holding said body unit means insubstantially cylindrical form.
 2. The sectional golf bag, as set forthin claim 1, wherein said first triangular grooved cavity means is formedas a substantially right-angled triangle, said upper flange means has aconfiguration complementary to said first triangular grooved cavitymeans, said second triangular grooved cavity means is formed as asubstantially right-angled triangle, and said lower flange means has aconfiguration complementary to said second tri-angular grooved cavitymeans.
 3. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidtop collar unit is provided with at least one golf club separating meansincluding a pair of threaded plug means, a hollow tube means, and asocket tube means inserted in said hollow tube means and serving as anaxle means for rotatably supporting said hollow tube means, and saidsocket tube means has two inner threaded portions at its both ends forreceiving said pair of threaded plug means, respectively.
 4. Thesectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said top collarunit and said bottom unit are formed of synthetic rubber material, andsaid upper and lower marginal portions are formed of synthetic rubbermaterial.
 5. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid top collar unit has a reinforcing steel ring means disposedtherein.
 6. The sectional golf bag, as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid bottom unit has at least a pair of reinforcing fixing meansincluding a screw bolt, and a stationary nut thereon embedded in theinner wall of said bottom unit.